Hawaii’s largest shopping mall, Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, is already home to luxury condominiums ONE Ala Moana and the Park Lane Ala Moana project under construction and may become home to another condo or two in the future, multiple sources tell Pacific Business News.

“There have been many rumors floating around regarding more residential condominiums attached to Ala Moana [Center],” Trevor Benn, president and principal broker of Honolulu-based Benn Pacific Group Inc., told PBN in an email Wednesday.

He noted that the 23-story Ala Moana Building, which houses mostly medical and dental providers, has been discussed as a potential condo development site, as well as the Macy’s location.

Additionally, the nearby 18-story Ala Moana Pacific Center, which has a mix of corporate tenants and service providers, will likely remain an office building since mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) does not own the entire land area in fee right now, Benn said.

Tenants in these buildings were told that they will get to stay in their spaces beyond 2019, the general manager of the buildings told PBN earlier this year.

Last year, several tenants maintained that Chicago-based General Growth was not extending leases past 2019. But General Growth later began extending leases in both office buildings.

“I think the success of ONE Ala Moana has shown that the mall is a powerful amenity,” Benn said. “Park Lane is nearly 70 percent sold, at record prices averaging $5 million per unit. With a possible rail [transit] stop near the SamKoo project on Kapiolani [Boulevard], you will have a lot of the key elements for a robust walkable community.”

South Korean developer SamKoo Development has plans to build two mixed-use high-rise projects near Ala Moana Center, which includes a total of nearly 1,000 units consisting of both affordable and moderately-priced units, a company executive told PBN in March.

“It remains to be seen, however, what the absorption rate will be for ultra-luxury condos in light of the inventory available,” Benn said. “There are a lot of options for a buyer with millions to spend, but how many buyers are there at those prices?”

Steve Sofos, president of Honolulu-based Sofos Realty Corp., told PBN that the notion of building more residential projects at Ala Moana Center seems to be a trend nationwide, as the live-work environment with housing and retail is becoming stronger in Hawaii’s marketplace.

The recently completed ONE Ala Moana condominium atop the Nordstrom parking garage and Park Lane Ala Moana are part of a growing trend of luxury residential developments being built at shopping centers in the United States.

The Wall Street Journal recently cited several projects similar to the Ala Moana projects, both developed by Hawaii developers The MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group. The Howard Hughes Corp., BlackSand Capital and General Growth are also involved in these projects.

The Wall Street Journal noted several factors behind the push behind this real estate phenomenon, including an uptick in the market, the growing need for developers/owners to create walkable, urban environments, as well as these residential developments becoming great investments for all parties involved, including buyers.

Lines are forming for prospective buyers interested in a new luxury Kakaako development.

It’s called “Park Lane Ala Moana” and it’s a contrast to towering high rises surrounding the shopping center.

Park Lane Ala Moana stands out in a sea of highrises.

Director of Sales Matthew Pakkala explained the difference this way, “Amenities, luxuries and securities of high rises you see in the background and combine those with the graciousness of Hawaii single family living.”

“This is very different than a high rise” added BlackSand Capital Managing Partner Ian MacNaughton. “This is a horizontal development featuring 6 onclaves and communities surrounding those onclaves.”

Pakkala said, “The reasons we call these Island residences is because they mimmick that Hawaii home that envelops the entertainment area in the center.”

BlackSand Capital Managing Partner BJ Kobayashi added, “They’re much more like single family homes than condominiums. What I mean when I say that is most or many of those ground floor units have 2 car garages, lawns, pools, and jacuzzis.”

There are 90 plus different layouts, with asking price from 1.1 million to 28 million for the 5-bedroom penthouse.

Tomorrow 107 residences go on the market for owner occupants.

Unrestricted sales started in November– with a surprising buying trend.

According to MacNaughton, “We’re very proud to say that 75 percent of those buyers have local Hawaii addresses.”

Sales begin Saturday for 107 owner-occupied units at the Park Ala Moana, a luxury condominium complex being built in front of Honolulu’s Ala Moana Center, with prices starting at $1.2 million for a one-bedroom unit up to $28 million for a five-bedroom penthouse.

The developer of the project, AMX Partners — which is comprised of Hawaii developers The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group and BlackSand Capital and mall owner General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) — opened a sales office on Friday at the nearby Hokua condominium, which was also developed by The MacNaughton Group and the Kobayashi Group.

The project, seven six-story buildings fronting Ala Moana Boulevard, is being built next to the new Bloomingdale’s department store under construction as part of GGP’s $537 million redevelopment of the mall’s Ewa Wing. The Park Lane Ala Moana project will eventually have 215 units and is scheduled to be finished by 2017.

The old Sears at Ala Moana Center is seen in the early stages of its redevelopment in this file photo.

Park Lane Ala Moana, the $1 billion luxury condominium project being built on what was once a parking area at Ala Moana Center by a trio of Honolulu firms — Kobayashi Group, The MacNaughton Group, BlackSand Capital — and landowner General Growth Properties Inc., plans to price the units between at least $1 million and at least $20 million.

Up until Thursday, prices had not been revealed for the units, which will be built adjacent to the new Bloomingdale’s department store under construction at the state’s largest shopping mall as part of General Growth Properties’ (NYSE: GGP) $573 million redevelopment of its Ewa wing.

Alana Kobayashi Pakkala, partner and executive vice president of Kobayashi Group, and Brett MacNaughton, development associate of The MacNaughton Group, gave an update on the project Thursday at a NAIOP Hawaii Breakfast Forum at the Pacific Club in Honolulu.

Pakkala said that the project was years in the making.

“Back in 2001, I was sitting in a boardroom and talked about how excited I was about [the] Hokua [condominium, which was developed by Kobayashi Group and The MacNaughton Group] because of its proximity to Ala Moana [Center] and with its unobstructed views [of the ocean], but Duncan [MacNaughton, founding partner and chairman of The MacNaughton Group] brought [the Park Lane project] up and said ‘there’s one better location — at the corner of Piikoi Street and Ala Moana Boulevard,'” she said.

Pakkala noted that the developers conducted a design competition to come up with the design for Park Lane, which has 93 different floor plans.

“We thought this warranted that because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said. “The front door will be the Pacific Ocean.”

Park Lane also has some features that were used at the Big Island’s Kukio Golf and Beach Club resort community, which the Kobayashi Group also helped to develop.

“We felt we could take the best practices at Kukio and bring it here,” Pakkala said.

For instance, it is using Don Vita at Park Lane, the same landscape architect Kobayashi Group used at Kukio.

Pakkala noted that there will be a great lawn area that will be made so that one of the homeowners’ daughters will want to get married there one day.

Then there’s the actual Park Lane, which will run through the property and act as the backbone of the community.

Park Lane, which was first reported by PBN, started construction this summer and is expected to be completed in 2016.

Located at 1388 Ala Moana Blvd., the seven eight-story buildings, which will each be 100 feet tall and have 215 units that range in size from 850 square feet to 6,000 square feet, also will include two floors of residential parking, 2.5 floors of commercial parking and amenity spaces. It also will include one commercial unit and monthly maintenance fees up to a little more than $7,500, according to public records.

This diagram over an aerial photograph of Ala Moana Center provided by developers The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group and BlackSand Capital shows where a group of ultra-luxury condominiums, as well as a new Bloomingdale’s store, will be built.

The Honolulu developers of the $300 million Park Lane Ala Moana project, a row of seven ultra-luxury, condominium towers planned for what is now a parking area at Ala Moana Center held a ground blessing on Wednesday morning and plan to start construction within a couple of months, an executive from the development team told PBN.

Kathy Inouye, partner and chief operating officer of the Kobayashi Group LLC, which is developing the low-rise project along with The MacNaughton Group, BlackSand Capital and landowner General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP), said prices for the 215 units in the project haven’t been established.

“[The ground blessing] is something that we like to do to thank the different [partners] we are working with, [including] the contractor that’s working on the site,” she said.

Located at 1488 Ala Moana Blvd., the eight-story buildings, which will each be 100 feet tall and have 215 units that range in size from 850 square feet to 6,000 square feet, also will include two floors of residential parking, 2.5 floors of commercial parking and amenity spaces.

Park Lane Ala Moana, which will be built adjacent to the Bloomingdale’s department store under construction at the state’s largest shopping mall that is undergoing a major redevelopment of its Ewa Wing, was first reported by PBN.

This rendering shows the six ultra-luxury condominium buildings planned for a portion of Ala Moana Center. The project will have a total of 215 units, according to a building permit filed with the City and County of Honolulu.

Ala Moana Center parking levels to be completed in late 2015

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

Ala Moana Center’s retail parking levels, which are currently being reconstructed as part of the Honolulu mall’s $573 million redevelopment of a former Sears space, should be completed by November 2015, coinciding with the opening of the Ewa wing’s retail expansion, according to a senior director of development for mall owner General Growth Properties.

Francisco Gutierrez of Chicago-based General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) recently gave an update to the Ala Moana/Kakaako Neighborhood Board regarding the state’s largest mall’s renovations and expansion.

He noted that the planned condominium project on the makai side of the center from Piikoi Street to Neiman Marcus would be about 100 feet tall, which is under the current height limit, and would not require special permits.

Construction on the $300 million, 215-unit “Park Lane Ala Moana” project, which is being developed by The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group, BlackSand Capital and landowner General Growth, is expected to begin mid-2014 and completed by late 2016.

The project, which has an address of 1488 Ala Moana Blvd., includes multiple low-rise towers atop the mall’s parking deck, was first reported by PBN.

Courtesy The MacNaughton Group/Kobayashi Group/BlackSand CapitalThis rendering shows the -luxury condominium buildings planned for a portion of Ala Moana Center, which will be called Park Lane Ala Moana.

The seven ultra-luxury condominium towers planned for what is now a parking area of Ala Moana Center fronting Ala Moana Boulevard now has a name, Park Lane Ala Moana, and a development cost of about $300 million, according to public records.

Located at 1488 Ala Moana Blvd., the developers of the project, The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group, BlackSand Capital, and landowner General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) recently pulled a building permit with the City and County of Honolulu that has an estimated value of $300 million.

The permit also says that there will be 215 luxury residences, two floors of residential parking, 2.5 floors of commercial parking and amenity spaces.

The “Park Lane Ala Moana” trade name was filed with the state on Feb. 25 by AMX Partners LLC, which lists Ian MacNaughton as its manager.

MacNaughton is a partner with The MacNaughton Group and a managing partner with BlackSand Capital.

A website for the project with the name www.parklanealamoana.com is under construction.

Units in the eight-story buildings, which will each be 100 feet tall, range in size from 850 square feet units to 6,000 square feet.

No price ranges for the units were given for the project, which will be built adjacent to the Bloomingdale’s department store under construction at the state’s largest shopping mall.

The project, which was first reported by PBN, is scheduled to start in mid-2014, with a completion date in 2016.

HAWAII AMERICANA REALTY

For the past 14 years, Mark G. Howard has practiced his skills as a licensed Realtor in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada and now Principal Broker & President of 'Hawaii Americana Realty', in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has gained a competitive edge in the real estate market by earning his status as an Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR).